What I'm Doing with My Law Degree: Danae Davis '80

This spring, Dean Margaret Raymond welcomed Danae Davis ’80 to University of Wisconsin Law School for its most recent installment of “What I’m Doing with My Law Degree.” The ongoing question-and-answer series features Law School alumni whose degrees have led them in unexpected—and fulfilling—directions.

Davis told an audience of students that she found her first year of law school overwhelming. “It took my second year to finally have the confidence to know that I was on a path that was going to be pretty neat,” she said. “I didn’t know what that path would be, but there was an atmosphere of ‘the sky’s the limit’ in law school that I found inspiring."

After earning her J.D., Davis built a successful career that spans more than three decades in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. Her experience includes serving as legal counsel for the governor of Wisconsin and as a former executive at Miller Brewing and Kraft Foods.

Currently Davis leads PEARLS for Teen Girls, Inc., an agency devoted to reducing teen pregnancies and increasing graduation rates among Milwaukee girls. Here, watch her discuss the impact her work has had on her community.

Under Davis’ leadership, PEARLS for Teen Girls continues to expand. She recently announced a 10,000 Girls Initiative, a phased strategy designed to bring PEARLS’ proven success to 10,000 girls annually.